1902 Morgan Silver Dollar

In general, the 1902 Morgan Silver Dollar offers few surprises for collectors. While there is always the chance of a new find for VAM (Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis) variety enthusiasts, there are no major attributed varieties for date-and-mintmark Morgan Dollar collectors. The only major hurdle for those collecting business-strike Morgan Dollars is the 1902-S Morgan Dollar, which is significantly more expensive in all grades than its Philadelphia and San Francisco counterparts.

The 1902 Morgan Silver Dollar was produced in three mints: New Orleans, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The New Orleans Mint used an "O" and the San Francisco Mint an "S”. The main mint in Philadelphia did not use a mintmark. Proof examples of Morgan Dollars from all years, including 1902, are rare which makes them expensive.

1902 Morgan Silver Dollar Mintage Figures

•          1902: 7,994,000; $35+
•          1902-O: 8,636,000; $35+
•          1902-S: 1,530,000; $150+
•          1902 Proof: 777; $3,000+

If you are assembling a set of circulated Morgan Dollars, then you will only need to pay a small premium over silver bullion prices for an example of the 1902 and 1902-O dollars, which are extremely common and readily available through most coin dealers. Prepare for a small challenge when tracking down the 1902-S Morgan Dollar which, given the popularity of the Morgan Silver Dollar series as a whole, means there is sometimes a veritable waiting list of collectors who want to get their hands on these semi-key Morgan Dollars. Let your coin dealer know you want a 1902-S Morgan Dollar for your collection; if he or she doesn’t already have one on hand for sale, you can count on the dealer keeping an extra eye out for you so when one becomes available you will be the first to know.